Gruden justifying Bucs' decision to let Dungy go

Mark Maske, Washington Post

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, January 18, 2003

2003-01-18 04:00:00 PDT Tampa, Fla. -- Only 11 months ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Glazer family that owns them were being ridiculed privately by executives from other NFL teams. The Glazers angered even their own players by firing respected coach Tony Dungy after leaving him dangling for weeks, then were well on their way to botching the search for Dungy's replacement.

It was so bad that, when Buccaneers general manager Rich McKay arrived in Mobile, Ala., a year ago to scout the college players preparing for the Senior Bowl, he gave a pep talk to his scouts. He delivered a hang-in-there speech, urging his people to keep doing their jobs like professionals even though their future with the organization -- like his -- was in doubt.

This week, however, no one around the league is making jokes about the Bucs or the Glazers, and no one in the organization needs a boost in self-esteem. The Glazers got the sort of hard-charging, high-profile, offensive-minded coach they wanted when they hired Jon Gruden on Feb. 18.

Doing so cost the team a hefty price in draft picks and cash, sent to the Raiders for the right to hire Gruden. But Gruden led the Bucs to a franchise- record 12 wins during the regular season and a 25-point triumph over the 49ers in the NFC semifinal last weekend. They enter Sunday's conference title game at Philadelphia with a chance to take the club to its first Super Bowl appearance.

Even the players who once were so firmly in Dungy's corner say the coaching change is paying off.

"Tony Dungy built this thing from the ground up," Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. "This place was nothing before he got here. He baked the cake. Jon Gruden has put the icing on the cake. Now we have to put the candles on the icing. But you have to give Gruden the credit. He's really made the difference for us."

Gruden said he is sensitive to the circumstances under which he replaced Dungy and regrets them. Yes, he said, he knows the Glazers brought him to Tampa to take the team further in the postseason than Dungy managed to. But every coach ever hired has the mission of trying to win championships, he said.

He does acknowledge, though, that there is a strong belief in the Bucs' locker room that they can beat the Eagles -- who eliminated Dungy's final two Tampa Bay clubs from the playoffs -- and end their season with an on-field celebration in San Diego in nine days.

"Any time you can win a playoff game in the second round by 25 points -- play good on offense, good on defense and make some timely plays along the way -- it's very exciting," Gruden said.

The Glazers -- owner Malcolm Glazer and his sons Bryan, Joel and Edward, who serve as executives with the team -- are not gloating publicly, declining to comment this week through a team spokesman. But they left the field at Raymond James Stadium in the final seconds of the 31-6 victory over the 49ers with their arms raised in celebration, and they have to be delighted at how their team has responded to the coach.

Gruden is the antithesis of Dungy, now coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Gruden is offensive-minded; Dungy's roots are on the defensive side. Gruden is aggressive and fiery, putting his emotions on display with outbursts and facial contortions that, in Oakland, earned him the moniker "Chucky," after the horror-film character. Dungy is quiet and dignified, usually hiding the fire that burns beneath a veneer of stoicism.

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Gruden regularly gets to the office before sunrise, and early on he devoted much of his limitless energy to winning over his veteran players. Sapp became a frequent visitor and, eventually, a strong supporter.

"He's meant the world," Sapp said. "You can ask every guy in this locker room. . . . He will touch every guy with a 30-second speech. He'll touch every guy in the room. That's just something special about him."

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